Ways that Dick Codey still seemed like governor Tuesday (besides the part where he signed a bill into law requiring health insurers to cover hearing aids for kids):

Codey: “Think about what the holidays would be like without the gift of hearing. No Christmas carols. You couldn’t go down to the PAC center and listen to Governor Codey recite The Night Before Christmas. No hearing the delight in your children’s voice. No shared conversations with family and friends.”

Sen. Shirley Turner, who opened her remarks by thanking Governor Codey: “It means so much, as our governor said, to have the gift of hearing.”

Assm. Upendra Chivukula, who opened his remarks by thanking Governor Codey: “Governor Codey, who is a big champion for people who need help, but especially children.”

Assm. Herb Conaway, who opened his remarks by thanking the governor who’d introduced him, then referred to him twice more as governor in the ensuing two minutes.

And finally, pausing just before signing the bill, Codey pointed to his gubernatorial portrait on the wall to his left and asked the kids who’d surrounded him at the table: “Do you know who that is?” When one boy answered correctly, Codey replied, “He gets a bobblehead!”